What Action Sustainability does

Action Sustainability is a London-headquartered sustainability consultancy established in 2007 by Shaun McCarthy OBE and Ian Heptonstall. The firm delivers sustainable procurement advisory, carbon and ESG measurement, modern slavery and human rights consulting, EDI strategy, and social value planning to enterprise and government clients across 10+ sectors including Construction, Transport, Healthcare, Energy, Financial Services, FMCG, Manufacturing, Utilities, and Education. Named clients span Balfour Beatty, British Land, Laing O'Rourke, STRABAG, Willmott Dixon, Canary Wharf Group, Network Rail, HS2, Transport for London, NHS Blood and Transplant, Go-Ahead Group, TechnipFMC, ENGIE UK & Ireland, Restaurant Brands International, and the National Trust, alongside international bodies such as ICMM and the Infrastructure Sustainability Council of Australia.

The company's offerings are organized into three pillars: (1) Sustainability Consultancy engagements led by senior consultants, covering carbon and climate change, circular economy, EcoVadis assessment support, EDI policy, modern slavery and human rights, social value strategy, sustainable procurement, and sustainability strategy/policy; (2) the Sustainability Tool, a cloud-based SaaS platform featuring Carbon Footprint Calculator, Scope 3 Carbon Calculator, Embodied Carbon Calculator, ESG and Sustainability Measurement, EDI Measurement Solutions, and a Diversity Survey module; and (3) Sustainability Training Programmes anchored by the Supply Chain Sustainability School, which delivers 200+ live training sessions annually across the UK and Ireland and has trained 137,000+ people since 2012. The firm monetizes through professional services (consultancy engagements priced per project), subscription SaaS for the Sustainability Tool, and freemium training. The Supply Chain Sustainability School itself is free, funnelling users toward paid consultancy and SaaS conversion.

Action Sustainability operates as an independent private limited company under English and Welsh jurisdiction, with no disclosed institutional investment, funding rounds, or acquisitions. The firm authored or helped author the ISO 20400 standard via the UK delegation, holds ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO/IEC 27001:2022, ISO 20121, and Living Wage Foundation accreditations, and dedicates 2.5% of revenue to its sister Community Interest Company ISO20400.org to spread sustainable procurement knowledge globally. With approximately 70 full and part-time employees and associates, the company claims 30,000+ companies served worldwide and has won the Queen's Award for Enterprise in Sustainable Development (2022) and the SPLC Leadership Award for Sustainable Procurement Excellence (2024).

Name

Action Sustainability

Legal name

Action Sustainability

Website

https://actionsustainability.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

London-based sustainability consultancy founded in 2007 delivering ISO 20400 sustainable procurement advisory, carbon/ESG/EDI measurement software, and supply chain training to enterprise and government clients across construction, transport, healthcare, and energy.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Sustainability Consulting Services

SIC

Services-Management Services (8741), Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)

akta.pro primary industry

Sustainability & ESG Consulting (BPAHACAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

Enterprise Carbon Accounting & GHG Inventory Platforms (EUABAEAA), Sustainability Engagement, Training & Behavior Change Programs (On-site) (BPABALAK)

Keywords

• Sustainable procurement
• Carbon measurement
• ESG consulting
• Supply chain sustainability
• Sustainability training

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Consultancy Services: Expert sustainability consultancy providing guidance on carbon reduction, modern slavery compliance, sustainable procurement, and sustainability strategy development. Delivered through senior consultants engaging directly with enterprise clients.
2. Sustainability Tool Platform: SaaS platform for sustainability measurement and reporting, providing subscription-based access to carbon calculators, ESG measurement tools, and EDI measurement solutions for organisations and their supply chains.
3. Training Programmes: Supply Chain Sustainability School provides free practical learning and resources. Custom e-learning and training programmes offered to clients for supplier development and sustainability upskilling.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Action Sustainability is a London-based sustainability consultancy that helps enterprise and government organizations integrate sustainability across their operations and supply chains. Its offering combines expert sustainability consultancy, the cloud-based Sustainability Tool platform (carbon calculators, ESG and EDI measurement modules), and training programmes delivered through the award-winning Supply Chain Sustainability School.

Product overview

Action Sustainability offers a multi-faceted sustainability solutions portfolio comprising three core service pillars: (1) The Sustainability Tool (a cloud-based measurement platform with modules for Carbon Footprint Calculator, Scope 3 Carbon Calculator, Embodied Carbon Calculator, ESG & Sustainability Measurement, EDI Measurement Solutions, and Diversity Survey), (2) Sustainability Consultancy services covering Carbon & Climate Change, Circular Economy, EcoVadis Assessments, EDI Policy & Strategies, Modern Slavery & Human Rights, Social Value Strategy, Sustainable Procurement & Supply Chain Management, and Sustainability Strategy & Policy, and (3) Sustainability Training Programmes including Supplier Development Training, Sustainability Hubs, and Custom E-learning, with the multi-award-winning Supply Chain Sustainability School delivering free practical learning and resources to the built environment industry.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Supply Chain Sustainability School: A multi-award-winning initiative providing free practical learning and resources to support sustainable practices in the built environment industry, with operations in UK, Ireland, France and Australia.
• Sustainability Tool
• Carbon Calculator

Products and services

• Sustainability Tool Cloud-based subscription platform that enables organisations to collect, aggregate, measure, and report sustainability impacts across their operations, projects, and supply chains; for enterprise and government sustainability and procurement teams.
• Carbon Footprint Calculator Calculator tool for measuring organisational carbon footprints, used by enterprises to baseline and report emissions performance.
• Scope 3 Carbon Calculator Calculator for measuring Scope 3 (value chain) emissions, enabling organisations to track and report supply chain carbon performance.
• Embodied Carbon Calculator Calculator designed for the construction and infrastructure sector to measure embodied carbon in built environment projects.
• ESG & Sustainability Measurement Module for collecting, aggregating, measuring, and reporting ESG and sustainability impacts across organisations, projects, and supply chains.
• EDI Measurement Solutions Tools for measuring diversity, equity and inclusion performance, including the Company EDI Benchmark and Supplier EDI Benchmark.
• Diversity Survey Annual diversity survey instrument for tracking protected characteristic data across the built environment sector, delivered in partnership with the FIR Programme.
• Sustainability Consultancy Senior-consultant-led advisory services for enterprise and government clients covering carbon reduction, sustainable procurement, ISO 20400 implementation, modern slavery, circular economy, EDI, social value, EcoVadis assessments, and sustainability strategy.
• Sustainability Training Programmes Custom e-learning, supplier development training programmes, and bespoke sustainability hubs designed to upskill enterprise supply chains and internal teams on sustainability topics.
• Supply Chain Sustainability School Free-membership training network providing 200+ live training sessions annually, e-learning, conferences, webinars, and workshops for the built environment industry, with operations in the UK and Ireland.

Quantifiable outcome

• 30,000+ companies worldwide trust Action Sustainability
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers19 records

Segments9 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Tonkin and TaylorminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNew Zealand partner collaborating with Action Sustainability on ISCA project to develop sustainable procurement category for IS rating scheme in Australia and New Zealand infrastructure sector.
• Fairness, Inclusion & Respect (FIR) ProgrammecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership to deliver the UK's largest annual Diversity Survey for tracking protected characteristic data across the built environment sector.
• Zero Waste ScotlandminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on Scottish SME Climate Action Hub programme to develop comprehensive learning management resources for Scottish SMEs on sustainability.
• Ardea InternationalminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership formed to spread knowledge on sustainable procurement and business human rights.
• AlignminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership to embed survivor voices in modern slavery risk management practices.
• ISO20400.orgcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity interest company (CIC) sister organisation receiving 2.5% of Action Sustainability revenue to spread knowledge on sustainable procurement globally.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• Persefoni: Persefoni is a climate management and carbon accounting SaaS platform targeting enterprises and financial institutions. It directly overlaps with Action Sustainability's carbon calculator and ESG measurement offerings for corporate buyers.
• Watershed: Watershed is a venture-backed enterprise carbon accounting and climate disclosure platform. It competes with Action Sustainability's Carbon Calculator and ESG Measurement tools, particularly for enterprise Scope 3 reporting and net zero strategy.
• Utopia AI: Utopia is a sustainability data and analytics platform focused on supply chain Scope 3 emissions, comparable to Action Sustainability's Scope 3 Carbon Calculator capabilities for product-level supplier engagement.

Direct peers

• EcoVadis: EcoVadis is a global sustainability ratings platform focused on supply chain assessments and ESG performance benchmarking. Both Action Sustainability and EcoVadis serve procurement teams seeking supplier sustainability intelligence, including through EcoVadis assessments that Action Sustainability explicitly supports via its EcoVadis Assessments consultancy module.
• Anthesis Group: Anthesis is a global sustainability consultancy providing strategy, advisory and digital services across climate, supply chain and ESG. It is a direct competitor to Action Sustainability's consultancy and SaaS offerings, with comparable verticals including built environment, retail and financial services.

Broad incumbents

• Workiva: Workiva is a cloud platform for ESG, sustainability and financial reporting. Its sustainability reporting suite competes with Action Sustainability's ESG & Sustainability Measurement modules, especially for listed-entity and large-enterprise disclosure.
• Sphera: Sphera is an established enterprise software provider for EHS, sustainability and supply chain risk management. Its carbon accounting and ESG reporting software competes with Action Sustainability's Sustainability Tool, while its broader portfolio overlaps with Action Sustainability's ESG and supply chain consultancy practice.
• ERM (Environmental Resources Management): ERM is a global sustainability and environmental consultancy with a deep built-environment and infrastructure practice. It competes with Action Sustainability for ISO 20400, Scope 3 and modern slavery advisory work, though at far larger scale and broader geographic footprint.

Regional players

• Salas O'Brien: Salas O'Brien is a North American engineering and sustainability consultancy with embodied carbon and MEP-focused practices. While geographically concentrated in the US/Canada, its embodied carbon and built environment sustainability work is comparable to Action Sustainability's Embodied Carbon Calculator and infrastructure advisory.

Others

• Sustainable Procurement Leadership Council (SPLC): SPLC is a community and awards body for sustainable procurement, and a partner of Action Sustainability (which received its 2024 SPLC Leadership Award). It is ecosystem-adjacent rather than a direct competitor, but operates in the same buyer community that Action Sustainability targets.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/action_sustain
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/action-sustainability

Compliance5 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles14 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Action Sustainability